


Leaffall Tears

by Veilrony



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Spoilers, fic takes place before the broken code but after avos, mcd before fic events, written before Squirrelflight’s hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 05:41:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21069794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veilrony/pseuds/Veilrony
Summary: Crowfeather receives grave news from Leafpool’s kits, and the tragedy of it all shakes him.





	Leaffall Tears

The leafbare winds had started to blow in early. Everyone on the dawn patrol plodded through the leaf-strewn ground, just wanting this patrol to be over with so they can all get back to the relative warmth of their dens.

Crowfeather, one of the thinner-furred cat on the patrol, felt this the most. His pelt shivered, fur sticking straight up to maybe catch some semblance of warmth as they travelled along the ThunderClan border. “Let’s get this over with,” he shouted to the cats behind him. Emberfoot and Sedgewhisker nodded in agreement, tails lashing.

They reached a bend in the stream dividing their territories, where it was thin enough a cat could leap over it if they tried. Across it, a rabbit nibbled at some crinkled herbs. He was tempted to pounce over the stream, just to get a mouthful of something to bring to camp. Of course, that was if his leap succeeded and he wasn’t caught chasing prey on ThunderClan grounds… If the leap failed, he’d plunge into a thin layer of freezing water, and that was certainly not an appealing thought at the time. Kestrelflight would have something to say about that, his mind prodded.

A branch cracked, and the rabbit bolted away. Something was here… He raised his nose into the air, curling his lip to get a good sniff of the wind.

“ThunderClan patrol,” he said after a second. “Stand your ground…”

As their bungling pawsteps made their way through the underbrush, Crowfeather’s hackles raised as far as they could in anticipation. Their pelts came into view. A silver tabby and… a golden tabby, as well. Their heads cleared through curling ferns, until Lionblaze and Jayfeather came into view.

They were harmless if Jayfeather was here as well. He glanced back to Sedgewhisker, whose fur was still spiked, and then to Emberfoot, staring at the cats in confusion.

“Helping collect herbs?” Crowfeather asked, as Jayfeather locked eyes with him.

Jayfeather didn’t respond, and then he caught sight of the tabby’s lowered tail and realized his eyes were glassy.

“No,” Lionblaze said. “We have news…” He glanced towards Jayfeather, claws digging into the moss. A blast of wind ripped through the trees, chilling Crowfeather’s pelt. “Can we cross the border to… to speak with you?”

“Alone,” Jayfeather said with an edge to his voice.

With that, Crowfeather looked back at his patrol mates. Some part of him felt an ambush was about to happen, but ThunderClan wasn’t one to stoop to that… “Yes,” Crowfeather said. He motioned to the other two cats to continue moving. “And I’ll catch up with you.” They moved along, and Jayfeather jumped from his bank to the other side. His claws scrabbled for a good foothold, before he was barely a rabbit-length away from Crowfeather. Lionblaze followed, but kept a more respectful distance.

Crowfeather finally broke the silence with, “What do you need to tell me?” He wondered if it was word from StarClan for a second, but something about their faces didn’t feel right to portray that… Their jaws were set too grimly, their eyes too downcast.

Jayfeather sighed, before saying slowly, “Leafpool is… running with StarClan now…”

To that, a shock ran through Crowfeather. Her? Dead? He wondered if it was a murder, or the cold, or something that tore her away too young. “What happened?” he asked, trying to hide a new shiver in his voice.

“The cold, we think…” Lionblaze offered. “We found her at moonhigh last night.” His voice was heavy, slow like the words were stuck in his throat.

There were two medicine cats in that clan, not including her, and she just died in the middle of the night? “You didn’t do anything to—?”

“We couldn’t,” Jayfeather said. “It was too sudden.”

Crowfeather couldn’t believe it. She was younger than him, it wasn’t right. His breathing grew ragged as he took the information in, his throat tightening to the point of pain. “I can’t…”

“We know. She was important to you… we felt you needed to know.” Jayfeather tore a leaf up, like he was thinking hard.

“Bramblestar said you can join her vigil,” Lionblaze said again. “It’s tonight…”

With that, he shook his head at the thought of being there with her body. To look down at her and think of everything that had happened, and remember the times that they had. To stare the two surviving kits in the eyes, who grew up into capable cats, then go home to the family he had in WindClan. “No,” he said after a second. “Thank you, and I send my condolences, but I cannot join that vigil…” He thought about their days running through the fields, alone together… “I need to join my patrol now… Go back home and mourn for her yourselves.” With that, he twisted and went back in the direction the patrol had gone.

The leaves crinkled and the wind started to blow again. His fur was cold, and he couldn’t tell if he was shivering from his emotions or from the cold. What he knew though, was that his tears melted the frost below him.


End file.
